The Shifter
by Night Fury's Avenger
Summary: When Tony hears about a so called Shifter Town" in Florida, where he lives, he can't help but investigate. But, when he is attacked by a wolf-shifter and saved by a mysterious lion-shifter, what will happen? ***I just took the characters completely different plot line*****
1. Chapter 1

According to legend, there is a town in south Florida on the edge of Miami, where I live, there is a little town called Shifter Town. It is supposedly, the home of many kinds of shifters. But, there is only one man that turns into a wildcat in all of Florida. I have always been very curious and when I heard about Shifter Town, I wanted to see if it was real.

Because of my curiosity, I researched more about the shifters. Legend said that the shifters were harmless after sunrise but after sunset they were very dangerous. So, I had to wait until sunrise to cure my curiosity. I told my neighbor what I was up to and pretty soon, the whole city was trying to stop me from going. But, I have always been a determined and defiant person and this only made my resolve to go stronger. Against all expectations of the city I went to my car and drove out to the place where shifter town was supposedly located.

At some point I realized that over time, that the farther I went the more destruction I saw. When I looked closer, I noticed that there were deep claw marks on the trees. I got out of my car and wanted to get a closer look. As, I got closer and closer to the tree, I heard noises that started to sound like growls. I began to get very nervous and wanted to turn around. I decided that I had seen enough and turned around to go home. But, when I started to turn around I noticed that there was a pair of very canine eyes looking at me by the tree. They started to get closer and I turned around and tried to run to my car. But, the next thing i know, I am on the floor with a wolf standing above me, and snarling at me. I started to scream and call for help. But I realized that this is where I was going to die.

But, something strange happened. I heard another growl and realized that it wasn't from the wolf. I looked at the wolf in confusion but it was looking around for the source of the other growl. As the wolf moved its head, I saw another pair of eyes behind the wolf. The mystery eyes were an impossibly bold shade of gold. When the eyes locked on me the animal charged. The wolf spun around and charged at the other animal. I got up and saw that the other animal was a very large wildcat. But, before my brain processed what was happening before my eyes, the fight was over. The wildcat had won and the wolf was lying, lifeless, on the ground before me. My brain then decided to process the information and I realized that I was alone with a very large and very angry wildcat. I knew not to look away from a big cat, so I, very slowly, began to walk backwards, towards my car. But, before I could take another step, I felt a gush of wind and suddenly the wildcat was behind me. In my mind I was thinking why me? But before I could freak out and start screaming, the wildcat, who I noticed was male, stood on his hind legs and started to shrink. After a few seconds, a man with the same color eyes as the wildcat was standing in front of me.

The man took a step towards me and I fearfully took a step back. He immediately saw what I did and stopped. He slowly put his hands out in front of him as though saying he wouldn't harm me. For some odd reason I felt, instead of nervous and scared, safe. He slowly spoke to me "Hello, my name is Steve."

I was still in shock, so he continued; "I heard you screaming and thought I should help you... even though you are human."

Finally, I got over my shock and managed to whisper out "Thanks, I don't know what would have happened to me if you hadn't saved me."

"Glad I got here in time, what would have happened if I hadn't gotten there in time disturbs me."

Curious, I asked him "Was the wolf another shifter?"

He sighed "Yes, he was. But, I have never seen him, he is not from this Shifter Town."

So the legends were true. I noticed that it was dark and getting darker by the minute so I said "Well, thank you again but I really should getting home. It is very late and this experience has made me very tired. So... see you." I turned around but stopped when I heard his voice.

"You should be careful where you go for a while."

"Why?"

"You just saw not one but two shifters, humans are supposed to think we are merely a story."

"What will happen to me?"

Immediately he said "Nothing, I'll make sure of it." As he said that he got closer, and closer to me until the was almost no room between us. He just stared at me for a minute and I felt as though he was staring into my soul. After a minute, he stopped staring and pulled me into his arms. When he let go, he softly added "I am the alpha of my clan and the leader of this Shifter Town, as I put you under my protection, all shifters will know that if they mess with you, they mess with me."

I was shocked, I said "Thank you so much!" I was surprised that a shifter who I had just met was putting me under his protection... whatever that meant.

He asked me for my phone, and I gave it to him hesitantly, as he did something on it he said; "I'm putting in my personal cell phone number, if you need help at any time, call me and I will be there." He gave me my phone back, pulled me into another hug, and before I could say a word he disappeared, as though he had never been there. It was just me, my car, and the dead wolf shifter. Realizing that it was very late, I got into my car and drove back to my house.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days were uneventful, but all I could think about was my encounter with Liam. But, as I was in bed one night, I heard something bang in my kitchen. I lived alone and it was late so it either meant that something had fallen, or someone was in my house. Hoping for the first one I slowly walked to my kitchen, but before I could leave my room I heard someone coming up the stairs.

Panicked, I ran into my closet and remembered what Steve said. So, as quietly as I could, I snuck out of the closet, ran to my cell phone dashed back into the closet, and dialed Steve number. He answered on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Steve..." I whispered

"Tony? Why are you whispering? Is everything alright?"

"No! There is someone in my house..." At this point I was hiding in my closet, praying they wouldn't hear me.

"Tony, it's okay, I'll be over soon and see who it is."

"Please hurry" I whispered, and hung up. After a few seconds I realized;

Great... He doesn't even know where I live.

I heard footsteps getting closer and closer to my hiding spot. I was panicking knowing that my only hope didn't even know where to go. Just as I heard someone right outside of the closet. I heard a bang and a snarl... Steve. I stayed in there listening and heard a moment of deadly silence and then banging, roaring, smashing, and then the deadly silence again. Then another set of footsteps padded over to my closet. My closet opened.

I was face to face with a wildcat. I exhaled a scream that I had been holding in for a while. I felt strong arms surround me and gently lead me towards my bed. "It's okay love, it's over." Eventually I got over my shock and stopped screaming. Then I realized that Steve had stayed in my room and was rocking me back and forth in his arms, trying to comfort me. I looked around my room and saw complete destruction and what looked to be a giant bear in my room. I could not tell for sure because it had claw marks and blood all over it's body I looked at Liam for an explanation.

He said "He is the alpha of his clan and has wanted to overthrow me and become the leader of this Shifter Town. He has challenged me before for leadership and has never won. He knew that there is a possibility of winning. He knew that if he had you and then challenged me, I would be distracted trying to save you and wouldn't stand a chance."

"This only confused me further.

Why would I be a distraction?

As though he could hear my thoughts, he asked "Have you ever heard of a mate-claim?"

I remembered from a story I heard that mate-claiming was a shifter's ritual. According to the story, when a male shifter saw a female he was... interested in, he was able to "claim her", basically he was saying that he wanted to "mate" with her, the shifter version of marrying someone, except the female shifter had no say in the mate-claim, and couldn't reject it.

As I was done remembering all of this, I noticed that Steve had been staring at me the whole time watching my face. If I was right then Steve had either mate-claimed me or he was very protective. I guess my face gave away my emotions because he said "Yes, I did mate-claim you. But, since you are human, you can reject it."

Once again, he shocked me, which he never failed to do. I managed to say "Wh-why would you mate-claim me?"


	3. Chapter 3

*****Steve's POV*****

I was walking through the woods when I heard a cry for help. Now me being me I had to go see what was wrong. As I got closer, I heard the growling of another shifter. _What is someone doing out this late, especially with the curfew_.

Ah yes the curfew. Let me explain that. So, a few years back, there was a rogue shifter names Loki, yes it's a very odd name but his family were immigrants. Anyway, back to the story. So Loki felt that shifters should be the ruling race and should not be hiding as just a myth. So me and a few other shifters were forced to fight against him, including his brother Thor. Then, the section of the human government that "oversees" us and our town, came by to wonder what was going on. After being explained the situation they said that their supervisors wanted to establish a curfew. They also said that if we didn't follow their rules, we would be taken away and never heard from again. So ever since then, we have had to stay inside of our houses after a certain time. But, I told them that we needed to patrol the borders of the town to watch for attacks from other shifter towns nearby. So yea, that's the story behind the curfew.

_Oh, wow_

I had just arrived at the clearing where the screams were coming from and saw the most beautiful person on the planet. _Mate! _Oh my gosh! I have finally found my mate.

_Why can't he sense me? Wait, he's human. You can't do this it's forbidden._

The next few days were uneventful, but all I could think about was my encounter with Tony. But, as I was walking around one night my phone went off. The caller ID said it was Tony. _Why is he calling this late at night? Oh well, let's find out._

"Hello?" I said happily.

"Steve..." He whispered

"Tony? Why are you whispering? Is everything alright?" I asked him, my tone changing from happy to worried in a second.

"No! There is someone in my house..." _What! Okay Steve calm down, just get to Tony and hurt the person who dared to get threaten and scare your mate._

"Tony calm down. It's okay, I'll be over soon and see who it is." I said, trying to reassure the both of us.

"Please hurry" he whispered, and hung up. After a few seconds I realized;

_Wonderful... I don't even know where he lives._

_***At Tony's House***_

As I went into the house through the broken door, I heard footsteps upstairs. I ran after them and ended up outside of a bedroom. l slammed open the door with a bang, just as the person was right outside of the closet that Tony was in. I snarled at him, _a warning to get out_. There was a moment of deadly silence and then banging, roaring, smashing, as we fought and then the deadly silence again after I killed. At some point I had shifted into my wildcat form. _Huh, guess I was too mad to realise._ Then I padded over to the closet. After a few tries I managed to open it. After opening it, I was face to face with a very frightened Tony. He exhaled a scream that I had a feeling he had been holding in for a while. I shifted back and gently lead him towards the bed in the center of the room.

"It's okay Tony, it's over." I said reassuringly.

Eventually he got over my shock and stopped screaming. Then I am guessing he realized that I had stayed in my room with him and was rocking him back and forth in my arms, as an attempt at comforting him. He looked around my room and saw the complete destruction that had occurred during the fight and after looking at the destruction, his eyes landed on the dead bear shifter. He looked at me for an explanation of why the shifter had been inside of his house.

I sighed than explained; "He is the alpha of his clan and has wanted to overthrow me and become the leader of this Shifter Town. He has challenged me before for leadership but has never won. He knew that there is a possibility of winning, if he had you and then challenged me. I would be distracted trying to save you and I wouldn't stand a chance."

Tony looked confused so I asked him; "Have you ever heard of a mate-claim?"

His face played out different emotions, as he recalled certain things, he had no doubt researched; confusion, realization, and then his face finally settled on shock.I said "Yes, I _did _mate-claim you. But, since you are human, you can reject it."

_Even though I would probably die from anguish and pain. _I added silently.

I guess he didn't realize that before because he stuttered out. "Wh-why would you mate-claim _me_?"

*********Tony's POV********

Steve simply stood there as though wondering how I was going to react. Just as I thought I wasn't going to get an answer from him, he sighed. "I honestly can't say I know. There was a legend where a shifter mate-claimed someone on accident. Now today that is unheard of but I think that is what happened between us."

"How can you tell?" I asked him.

"Well, all I know is that when I saw you in the woods that night, I felt an indescribable need to protect you and stay by your side to make sure nothing comes to harm you."

"Oh..." I trailed off.

"Now, since your human, you have a say on whether or not you would like to act on this relationship, and when the bonding ceremony will be." Steve said, muttering the last part.

"What's a bonding ceremony."

"You know bond."

_ Bond? Bo- Oh, Okay, breathe_

As politely as could I said "Okay, so then what's a bonding _ceremony"_

He said "A bonding ceremony is what happens when two shifters want to unite for the rest of their lives. They do a blood ritual and finally mate in a den the male, or the higher ranking partner, depending on the pairing, finds before hand. I believe humans call it a wedding?"

"Uhhhh, yea it's called a wedding, except there is no blood ritual, or den mating. We just have say vows, kiss, have cake and then party."

"Oh, well since I am a shifter and you're a human I guess we can do both."

"I don't even know you that well, I know literally nothing except your name and that you're a shifter and live in the closest shifter town.

_He just doesn't get that we can't get married or "bonded"_

"Well that will change over our time as bonded mates."

_ "_I need a drink."


	4. Chapter 4

*****Tony's POV*****

I walked past Steve into the hallway and into the kitchen downstairs. I went to the bar and poured myself a drink. Well it would be rude not to...

"Do you want a drink?"

"Um, no thanks. I don't drink."

"Well, while I drink, let's get to know each other a little more. Okay?" Tony said while walking into the living room and sitting on the couch.

"Okay" Steve grinned and plopped down on the chair across from him.

_He really should stop being so cute. Stupid blonde hair and baby blue eyes... Picture of innocence right there. Looks like a puppy. Wait a minute, why am I even thinking about him like this?_

***Little did Tony know, while he was having a conversation with himself, Steve was thinking about Tony as well.***

*****Steve's POV*****

_I can't believe I got so lucky. His chocolate brown eyes, and dark brown hair. He's gorgeous... Now I just have to make sure he stays mine…_

"So, since we are going to be mated, why don't we get to know each other?" I hesitantly asked

_Wait, why am I shy all of the sudden?_

"Okay, yea, sure."

"Great... So, how are we going to do this."

"Uhh, how about we just ask each other questions back and forth?"

"Okay, that's fine."

"So who's going first?" He asked me.

"Uhh you can go first." That will hopefully give me enough time to actually think of a question.

"Ok, great. First Question…."

Tony's POV (AGAIN)

"Ok, great. First Question…." I trailed off in an attempt to actually think of one.

_Oh, I know_

"How old are you?"

Steve laughed his stupidly wonderfully perfect laugh and said "That's actually a really good question, I am 33 years old. How about you?"

**(AN: This is the age wikipedia said Chris was in real life. Robert is actually 49 not 35.)**

"Uhhh, Well, I'm older than you… I'm 35."

'Well there's nothing wrong with that in my opinion. Do you care about that, it's only a two year difference."

"N-n-no,no not at all."

"Oh, Ok, good."

Steve and Tony kept asking each other questions that wouldn't seem important, but to them (Steve) they were. Until, Steve asked the question that Tony wished he would never have to answer.

"Have you ever had a significant other." **(Oh****, Steve you be crazy bro)**

"Uhh... what?" I asked in a very very smart attempt to divert the attention from my past.

So a little background on me then:

When I was younger I was ignored by my father, Howard, sometimes even abused when he got angry and drunk enough, while my mother Maria did nothing but watch helplessly. As a result, as I grew up I tried acting out, and doing bad things, like drugs, and slept around in an attempt to get his attention. Sometimes it worked, but not in a good way. So, once I caught on to the fact that I never would impress my father, I stopped taking drugs, but sleeping around, well... I couldn't stop for some reason. As I grew older it grew worse, different girls every night, that sort of thing. If I had the chance to change my past habits, I definitely would.

"-ony, Tony, TONY!" Steve's voice cut through my thoughts like a blade.

"Huh, what, what?" I said looking around like a lunatic. As, I got my bearings, I noticed that Steve was crouching in front of me clapping in front of my face. As I relaxed, he started to move backwards to his seat.

"Oh, good you're back. You were daydreaming, I asked you if you had any significant others." Steve said with a laugh, leaning back into his seat before me.

"Oh, yea…."

"Well, have you? Or would you like me to answer my question first?" He asked teasingly.

I jumped at the opportunity to get the spotlight off of my past. "YES, uhh… yea, that'd be great. Good idea Stevie."

_Stevie? Did I just give him a nickname, and of _all_ nicknames available I had to pick that?_

He grinned at the nickname and said "No, I haven't I've been waiting for my mate, which is you. So I answered _my own question_. Now, it's your turn."

"Ok, ok…. yea, yea, it's my…. turn…." I trailed off awkwardly, wondering how the heck to tell him that I was still sleeping around a day before I met him.

"Yesssssss?"

"Umm… Yea I have had no significant others."

_What it's true, I've never been in an actual relationship, just one night stands._

"Oh, good then I'm your first."

"Yea, yea you're my first…. relationship."

"Why did you pause there." Steve asked looking at me, suspicious.

_Nooooooo... I was hoping that Steve wouldn't notice that tiny detail._

"Well-" I said clearing my throat. "-you would be my first relationship but you are not my first partner." _OMG this is so awkwar__d!_

"define partner…" Steve trailed off.

"I mean partner in a…. sexual way" I paused waiting to see how he would react.

As soon as Steve heard that, he froze up, and his face became emotionless.

That's not scary at all. I thought

Finally after a few minutes of silence with him not moving and me fidgeting away from his gaze, he spoke. An emotionless whisper of one word.

"What?"


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm just going to say that this isn't my best chapter in my opinion but still on with the story. **

* * *

*******Previously********

"I mean partner in a…. sexual way" I paused waiting to see how he would react.

As soon as Steve heard that, he froze up, and his face became emotionless.

_That's not scary at all._

Finally after a few minutes of silence with him not moving and me fidgeting away from his gaze, he spoke. An emotionless whisper of one word.

_"What?"_

*******Back to the present*******

As soon as I heard that emotionless whisper, I froze.

"Uhhhh, but they never meant anything!" I said hurriedly, trying to diffuse the situation, that was escalating, and escalating fast.

"How many?" He asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts

"What?"

"How many people have you slept with?"

"Umm…. a lot? But they never meant anything. If we do sleep together eventually, it will definitely mean something, at least for me… probably" I said hurriedly, whispering the last part to myself. Unfortunately, I forgot that shifters have better hearing than regular humans, and that Steve could hear anything I would say under my breath, no matter how quiet.

"It won't _probably_ mean something to you, because I'm not going to be another one night stand. So when we do sleep together, it will mean something. Do you understand me?" He said firmly, getting up and walking towards me. Pretty soon he was in my personal space, leaning in so close to my face that I could smell his mint toothpaste.

_Huh, wouldn't have thought he used mint toothpaste like the rest of us. Why? I have no idea._

"Uhhh… Yea, understood, crystal clear, message received, yup, for sure." I said nervously in an attempt to get him out of my face. Suddenly my face lit up. Idea!

"I'm going to get another drink. You sure you don't want one?" I got up and almost ran towards the bar on the other side of the room.

"No thank you." He said amused.

_ Probably wondering why I almost ran over here._

"By the way, why wouldn't I use mint toothpaste?" He asked me with a smug smirk on his face.

As soon as I heard his question I froze up, causing me to drop the bottle I was holding in order to refill my drink.

"Fu-" I screamed as I heard the bottle shatter against the floor and as a result, the shards imbed themselves in my foot. I looked down and saw a gruesome sight.

My foot was practically in ribbons, with blood pouring out of each cut. It was swollen and purplish red and really really hurt. As the pain set in I began to hop around on one foot, crying like a baby.

"Tony!" I heard Steve yell my name from across the room.

"It's all good! Everything's fi-" I couldn't finish my sentence due to the fact that in that time, he had run across the room, picked me up and was currently moving towards the bathroom with an anxious look on his face. In fact, it almost looked pained.

As soon as we reached the bathroom, he set me on the toilet and started rummaging through the cabinets, looking for what I assumed was the first aid kit.

"It's in the bottom cabinet, left side." I muttered pointing towards said cabinet.

"Thanks." He said turning back towards me with the white and red box in hand. He crouched in front of me and looked at me, determined.

"Okay, let me see what you did." He gently took my foot and placed it on one of his knees.

"What I did! Excuse me sir but if you hadn't made the toothpaste remark this would have never happened!" I yelled indignant and angry.

"It's my fault?" He whispered in a broken voice.

"Y-" I couldn't even finish that word due to the fact that he had looked up at me again and I was horrified to see tears welling up in his baby blue eyes.

"Oh my gosh! No, don't cry. please I couldn't handle it." I begged because that was the truth. i wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I made him cry, even if i was mad at him for making me cut my foot.

"But I hurt you." He whimpered before dissolving into tears.

_Oh god. Okay you just have to get him to stop crying. Oh I know! It a little mean but it will get him to stop._

"Please stop. You're going to make me cry." At the end of the sentence I made my voice shake, tears come to my eyes, and my bottom lip wobble.

His head snapped up at the sound of my voice and there is only one word to describe his facial expression when he saw me: Horrified.

"No! Don't cry. I'm sorry, i'll stop if you stop. Please don't cry." _Mission Accomplished_

"Okay, let's just get my foot taken care of then we can I don't know... watch a movie, eat, that sort of thing." I said in both an attempt to distract myself from the pain of him taking the glass out of my foot, and in an attempt to see his crystal blue eyes again.

"Tony are you asking me out on a date?" He said looking up from my foot and peering at me through his lashes. _There they are_. I was captivated almost in a trance, just by looking into his eyes. Then I realized that he had asked me a question, so obviously i needed to answer.

"Can you repeat the question please?"

"Are we on a game show or something? 'Can you repeat the question?' What I asked was did you ask me out on a date?" By this time he had stopped his work on my foot and was looking at me with a hopeful expression on his face.

"I guess it sounded like that huh?" I asked replaying my words from earlier in my mind. "I guess I am."

"I would like nothing better." He said with an earsplitting grin on his face.

"Okay, great. Can we finish with my foot now?" I asked with a smile.

"Huh? Oh yea, right. Sorry." He said sheepishly.

As he took out the last and largest piece of glass from my foot, a stream of blood came out of it. He calmly wiped it up with a piece of gauze and continued on wiht his work.

"Okay now I have to wrap it. If it gets too tight you need to tell me. Understood?" With my nod, he began. Pretty soon it was over and he had placed me back on the couch I was sitting on before this whole ordeal began. After a few minutes he sat back down in front of me.

"Where did you learn how to do that?"

"Oh my little brother is very…. accident prone. So with it just being him and me in our house since I was younger, I had to learn."

"Wait there were no parentals?"

"Weird wording but nope, my mom died giving birth to him and my father blamed him so he was kicked out of our community, making me the alpha at the ripe old age of fourteen." He had a far off look on his face accompanied by a bitter smile.

"Fourteen? That's how old you were?" When he nodded I mumbled out a "wow."

"Yea so enough about me and my life what about you?"

"What about me?"

"I don't know. Just tell me random facts."

"Didn't we already do that but it ended in disaster?"

"Oh yea…. forgot about that. I wasn't mad before, about your sleeping around. I was just shocked."

"Oh, well you certainly loo-" At the sound of my garage opening, I froze.

Oh no! Pepper's home again, but I thought she comes back tomorrow. What's she doing here now of all times.

"You have to go home. NOW!" I told Steve frantically pulling him up out of his seat and towards the back door.

"Why? I thought we were having a good time?" He sounded hurt.

"It's not you, it's me. Or actually it's Pepper."

"Pepper?"

"Yea my assistant, she lives with me. She wasn't supposed to come back until tomorrow but she's here early."

"Oh, well I would love to meet her!" At this, I blanched and whispered out a 'no!'

"Fine then. I'll just be going." As he said this, I heard Pepper call out "Tony?"

"Yea one second Pep, I'll be right there!"

"Okay you erally haev to go, we'll continue later but you _have_ to go _now_."

"See you later." With that he leaned down quickly and pecked me on the lips. I froze and saw him smile and run out into the darkness of the forest.

I closed the door, turned back around and wandered back towards Pepper. As soon as she saw me she asked. "What happened?"

"That my dear Pepper is the question." With that comment, I went upstairs to bed, until I realised that there was still dead bear shifter on my carpet.

_I'll sleep on the couch._

* * *

**So there you go. Next chapter you meet the rest of the Avengers so stay tuned!**

**-Night Fury's Avenger**


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